Iranian court convicts 2 of spying for UK, Israel

June 20, 2014 - 16:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Iranian court has convicted two men on charges of spying for Britain and Israel and sentenced them to 10 and five years in prison, respectively.

According to the Associated Press, the state television on Friday, June 20, quoted prosecutor Yadollah Movahhed in southeastern Kerman province, where both were tried, as saying that the man sentenced to 10 years had "exchanged information with four British intelligence operatives."

Movahhed said the other man passed on intelligence to a security officer at the Israeli embassy in Thailand. He was arrested last August.

Both men are believed to be Iranians but Movahhed did not provide their names. It was not known if the suspects had defense lawyers or who they were.

Iran occasionally says it has dismantled Western spying networks in the country and announces arrests of individuals on espionage charges.